Los Alamitos September meet to feature $775,000 stakes program

The Los Alamitos September Thoroughbred meeting will have a $775,000 stakes program of eight races equivalent in value to the 12 stakes offered at the meeting it replaces, the Los Angeles County Fair meeting at Fairplex Park in Pomona, Calif.

The Los Alamitos meeting, which runs Sept. 5-21, is highlighted by the $200,000 Los Alamitos Mile for 3-year-olds and up Sept. 6. The race was tentatively scheduled for Sept. 20 but pushed forward at the request of the Thoroughbred Owners of California, according to Los Alamitos general manager Brad McKinzie.

The new date will allow some runners to start in the Los Alamitos Mile and the $300,000 Awesome Again Stakes over 1 1/8 miles at Santa Anita on Sept. 27.

The Los Alamitos meeting will not include four stakes from previous Fairplex meetings – the C.B. Afflerbaugh and Phil D. Shepherd Stakes for 2-year-olds, and the Jim Kostoff Stakes and Pomona Derby for 3-year-olds.

In 2013, there were eight stakes at Fairplex Park worth $50,000 each, one race worth $75,000, and three worth $100,000, including the Ralph Hinds Stakes for 3-year-olds and up. Aside from the Los Alamitos Mile, the upcoming meeting has two $100,000 races and five races worth $75,000.

The $100,000 races are the Barretts Debutante and Barretts Juvenile for 2-year-olds on Sept. 13 and 14.

This year, there are four $75,000 races with similar conditions to $50,000 races run at Pomona – the Las Madrinas Stakes for fillies and mares over 1 1/16 miles; the Beverly Lewis Stakes, a sprint for 3-year-old fillies; the Orange County Stakes for female sprinters formerly known as the Bangles and Beads; and the Katella Stakes for sprinters that was formerly the Governor’s Cup Stakes.

The E.B. Johnston Stakes will be run for 3-year-old California-bred sprinters. The race was previously run for Cal-bred fillies and mares over 1 1/16 miles.